Beautiful Monster
by ABalletBun
Summary: When Claire goes missing, it sparks a chain of events leading to a two-vampire war. When Claire learns more about herself, Myrnin is the only one who can help. VampireClaire and Clyrnin/Clane love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning! There is a few swear words in this chapter, so don't read if you don't like bad language.**

I gave Shane a light kiss on the cheek as I walked out. I smiled at him while I knew he was looking but as soon as I turned around, the smile disappeared.I had an incesscant nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach and it wouldn't go away.

I guess that it was because Morganville had been so quiet lately - I wasn't used to that. Shane reassured me that before I came here, there was times where nothing was ever happening. He told me that the only reason I was uncomfortable with nothing happening was because I was used to being in danger all the time.

Maybe he was right, but maybe he wasn't. Just because we didn't _see_ anything happening doesn't mean that it wasn't there. Maybe dangerous thing were happening but we just didn't know it yet...

Pushing back my paranoid thoughts, I borrowed the hearse to drive to the university. Everyone was off work today, except for me, of course. I was jealous that they would be sitting at home having fun while I was sitting in a boring class. I tried to look on the bright side, at least I could get practice driving. Ever since I'd passed my driving test two weeks ago, I'd barely driven anywhere and I was excited to finally put my newly learnt skills into actions.

I put the car keys in and the hearse stalled immediatly. I looked over at the petrol meter, it was nearly empty. Eve hadnt told me that we were running out of gas. The closest petrol station was closed so I mentally measured the amount of miles left of petrol and miles left to the nearest station and set off, figuring that I would make it.

I was in the desert side of Morganville when the car gauge started to flash, telling that the car really _was _in danger of running out. I sped up, knowing that the petrol station wasn't too far away. _Just around the corner, _I thought to myself, _I think. _The car splutterd and died. I sighed and put my head on the dashboard, hitting the horn. I tried calling Eve but there was no signal on my phone.

"Fuck!" I shouted to no one. This street had been empty the whole time i'd been driving on it and I was willing to guess that I'd been the only person dumb enough to drive down here in the first day.

I got out of the car, thanking God that it was daylight. I couldn't imagine how scary it would be to be trapped here in the middle of the night. Atleast no vampires were going to attack me here. It was too far away from any kind of shelter for them to even bother trying to find me. I wandered down the road a bit holding my phone too the sky like the lion king or something. _Damnit, _I thought, _no signal._

I opened my car door and sat with my legs out of the door, thinking about what to do. I had a pair of white denim shorts so at least, I was going to get tan. _Oh no, wait! I don't even tan, I just burn. Whoopdyfuckingdoo!_ I thought sarcastically.

That's when a car came down the road. Seriously? I thought excitedly. It was still pretty far away but it was driving slow enough that I could probably stop it with no trouble. The car was black, but the windows were a normal transparency, _humans. _I started getting excited. What were the chances of that? No cars have been down here for ages but when I'm stuck, someone does? Maybe Shane was right, after all.

I put my hand out and waved to the car. I couldn't see who was driving but he started to slow to a stop just behind the hearse. A man got out of the car and I froze instinctivley. He was wearing grey tracksuit bottoms with a white t-shirt that had the arms cut out, showing his muscles. He was wearing a blank mask and a hat covring his hair.

That wasn't the kind of thing that a nice man who was going to nicely offer me a lift would wear, was it?

I started backing up towards my car before realising that it didn't matter how close to my car I got because it had no petrol to drive away from him, anyway. The man followed me, holding a gun in one hand, pointing straight at me and a cloth in the other. I starte to run, it was my only hope. It was pointless though as the man quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me back anyway. He pulled both of my arms behind my back and pushed against the car. He held the cloth to my mouth.

_Chloroform, _I thought. How cliche. He must have used a large dose because I started get sleepy. Was it bad that I was probably going to be kidnapped, raped or murdered - or all three - and all I could think about was science as I dropped off into darkness?


	2. Chapter 2

Amelie's POV-

I sighed, putting my head in my hands. Little Claire Danvers had gone missing. Claire and I had a connection through her contract, so I'd known something was not quite right with her since this morning but I never thought her life was in danger. In fact, it was only when Sam's grandson, Michael burst into my office about an hour ago that I'd even thought much about it at all.

She'd disappeared at around 9 o'clock this morning and no one had seen her all day. It was 11 o'clock in the night now, and there was still no sign of her.

Honestly, I can say that I feel more than a little guilty for the young girl going missing. She was so young and innocent, especially to be so deep within Morganville business. That was probably my fault. I often threw her into situations where her life was in danger, convincing myself that there was nothing wrong with it, since she always made it out alive.

I secretly hoped that the young girl had made it out of Morganville, that she'd driven right over the border to go see her parents or live in Hollywood or something like that. She deserved a break from all the drama after all. However, I knew that was not the case.

I knew that because Hannah Moses and Richard Morrell where standing in front of me, telling me that the strange car that Claire had been driving was left with the door open in a very unpopulated side of town. They also told me that there were strange marks on the vehicle; _signs of a struggle._

Claire hadn't escaped this town. She'd been kidnapped.

Claire's POV-

My head was pounding. Where was I? The memories of a broken down car and a lonely desert road came flooding back. I was kidnapped. I was actually kidnapped.

I wondered what was going on back home. Would Shane have noticed I was gone? Would Amelie care? Would the whole town be looking for me or would they assume I was dead? I didn't know. My priorites had to be here right now. Wherever _here _was.

I listened for any clues on what was going on. I heard muffled voices but they sounded far away. I was lying on a cold, grey floor. It was dark but I could see a bit. I tried to stand up but my head hurt and I was quickly pulled back down by some kind of chains that were wrapped around me anyway. I layed back against the wall and rubbed my temples. That cloroform must have been very strong for it to have lasting effects like this.

Suddenly, a mouse or something along those lines - I couldn't see it properly - ran over my leg. Naturally, I squealed and shuffled back. That was a bad idea.

"She's awake" I heard someone say as I heard footsteps coming towards the cell. Left, right. Left, right. I felt my heart skip a beat and then start racing as I stayed desperatly quiet, wishing I could go back and just stay silent. But it was too late, the damage was done. He, whoever kidnapped me, was heading this way.

The door swung open and the man who (assumably) kidnapped me burst in, he closed the door after him and stood confidently in the doorway "Ah, Claire. You're awake."

"Let me go!" I yelled, pulling at the chains hard.

The man smiled. Actually _smiled, _"It's nice to see you fighting. I do hate it when they don't fight," That was the first time I noticed his accent. It was British. I could tell from here that he had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was pretty tall and muscular too. He knelt down to my level, talking surprising gently "I _am _sorry. You're just what's know as collateral damage, sweetcheeks. Nothing personal."

_Sweetcheeks, _the nickname made me want to vomit in my mouth. I turned away and saw the anger in his eyes. He grabbed my face and turned it roughly towards him.

"What do you want from me?" I asked viciously.

"It's not _you _that we want," he said, starting to pace around the room now, "We want Amelie to give us control over the blood banks. That's just the start, then we'll take over the rest of the town."

_God, he was so dumb. _He just broke the most stupid rule in the villian handbook - don't tell the person you capture your plans. Unless...

Unless you were sure they weren't making it out of there.

"Amelie's not going to come and rescue me." I said, trying to make my voice sound angry and hard but it came out as a whimper.

"She will," he explained, "You're too valuable for her too lose. Besides, even if she didn't want to save you, she would have too... For Myrnin."

"Myrnin?" I repeated curiously.

"You really don't see it?" he asked. Oh god, I can't believe I'm having a relationship talk with the guy who kidnapped me and chained me up as a ransom for the scariest vampire in town. That was crazy.

The man clearly looked angry at himself as he realised that he'd been sidetracked, "Any how, I have business to deal with. I don't have time for dilly-dallying around with you. Amelie has until 9 o'clock tomorrow night to hand over the keys otherwise it's going to be bad for you" He gave me a sharp kick in the chest and left.


	3. Chapter 3

Claire POV-

I'd never realised how _boring _being held ransom was before. I had no idea how long I'd been here but it felt like days. _Weeks, _even. Logically I knew it wasn't since Amelie only had until 9 o'clock to hand over the blood banks. If she did, I'd be set free. If she didn't, I'd be killed. Since I hadn't been killed or set free, I was safe to assume that the full 36 hours hadn't passed yet.

I sat myself up, my body aching. My ribs were hurting from where I'd been kicked, as well as various over parts of my body that they tortured me with. My head was still pounding from the chloroform which made me wonder how strong the must have had it as. Sleeping on the hard floor had left my muscles in pain everywhere around my body. Basically, I felt like crap.

It was strange really. I probably had a few hours left, then I'd be dead. I knew Amelie well enough to know that she wouldn't hand over the town for anyone,let alone _me. _There was no way I was being rescued and as well as I knew Amelie, I knew my captors well enough to know they weren't going to set me free out of pity of let me live longer if Amelie didn't hand over the keys to the blood bank.

_I was going to die._

I started picking my nails, tears welling in my eyes. I thought of Shane and how I promised that I'd never leave him after the Draug. I thought of Eve, my best friend. I would never say goodbye to her. Michael, too, he was like my big brother and I'd miss him.

I heard a phone ring from outside of the room, a basic simple ringtone, of course. I heard my captor (his name was Ryan, I'd asked) sigh and walk over to pick it up.

"Put it on speaker," another person, James, said, "Who is it?"

"Oliver," Ryan muttered and for a few seconds, I got excited. Maybe Amelie had changed her mind after all. Then I realised that this was _Amelie, _she rarely ever changed her mind, especially not when it would damage Morganville. And it was _Oliver _on the phone and even if Amelie did change her mind, he'd tell her to fight for the town anyway. I sighed and shuffled back down the wall.

"How is the girl?" I heard Oliver's rough voice ask down the phone. Wait! If he knew where I was and who I was with, why hadn't he staged a rescue or something? I knew Oliver didn't really _like me, _but I'd figured that I was valuable enough that they would at least _try _and save me.

"She fine," Ryan told him blankly, his voice hard and emotionless, "What about the founder? What has she decided?"

"She will not hand over the keys. I have tried getting through to her, but she is firm on her decision." Oliver explained. He was talking about Amelie of course and I wasn't surprised to hear that she has stuck to doing what was best for Morganville. I'd be worried if she didn't.

"So are we doing Plan B then?" James asked. Plan B? What the hell was Plan B?

"Yes,"Oliver agreed, "I will kill her tomorrow night. We'll go from there." My heart stopped. Was Oliver talking about me? Why would her come all the way underground to kill me. Surely, Ryan and James would be happy to do it for him. Oliver probably wouldn't want to get his hands dirty, anyway. It all confused me.

That's when I realised they weren't talking about me. They were talking about _Amelie. _Oliver wanted control over the town - he was planning to kill Amelie to get it, too. There was nothing I could do about it, either. If I could, I would run to Amelie and tell her about Oliver's plans. But I couldn't, because I was trapped down here. Well played, Oliver. Well played.

I wondered if Oliver had been part of this all along. Are Ryan and James working for Oliver? Did they choose to kidnap me or did Oliver bribe them with something so they would do it? Knowing Oliver, it was most likely to be the latter.

Amelie POV-

I was sitting in my office, waiting for Oliver to get to back. I'd ordered him to tell Claire's kidnappers that I refuse to hand over the blood bank to them. Handing over the blood bank meant that they would have control over the vampires and by default, humans. It was basically giving up the whole town. Giving up the whole towns sounds too much like giving up for my liking.

So, I'd left Claire's fate in the hands of strangers. They could kill her if they wanted. I felt terrible, I had grown a soft spot for sweet, innocent Claire but I couldn't hold her life with more value than I held for everyone else in the town. She'd understand, but that didn't make me feel any better.

I had gotten too close to her. This happened every time, it was the reason that I kept myself cold and pushed people away. Whenever I took a liking to someone, they were only used to hurt me in the end. I couldn't help but think that if I never got involved with them, they woul still be here.

Like Sam, I loved him. My father had known that, and he'd killed Sam to make sure that I felt pain. To make sure that I knew that I didn't deserve love or friendship. I deserved an eternity alone.

"Ma'am," I heard Bizzie call from across the room, "Oliver is here to see you."

"Send him in," I ordered. Oliver came straight in as Bizzie left.

"I told them that you refused their ransom," he told me and I nodded, knowing that there was more than that, "Claire Danvers is dead, ma'am."


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. What was there too say? Of course, I knew that the resistance members would kill Claire. I just _hoped _that they wouldn't. Which after all, was extremely foolish of me since if there is one thing that I have learnt over my years, it's that hope _hurts. _

Oliver continued, "We can call off the search parties, then I suppose? No use in trying to get back a dead girl, it's far too costly and it does not really matter anyway."

Suddenly, the doors to my office swung open and Myrnin stood in the doorway looking furious. My guards momentarily jumped up, to protect me but stopped when they saw that it was only Myrnin. He was my friend and dramatics like this were not _exactly _what you might call 'few'. However, he did look different this time, _serious. _

"No." Myrnin stated abruptly, "I need her body."

"You cannot save her again." I told him, agreeing with Oliver "It was a miracle the first time. To try and bring her back to life again would be foolish."

Myrnin burnt red with fury, as he told me through his teeth, "How can you be so heartless, _Amelie?" _He sithed my name with utter distate and anger.

"I cannot risk the whole city and all the people in it, to save one human. Claire would understand that" I explained

"She's more than just a human Amelie, she was a person. She has friends and family. She was _loved_!" Myrnin raged, but got more gentle towards the end of the sentance. He sighed on the word 'loved'. It was obvious, too all but Claire that Myrnin loved her. Even through his times with Ada and Jesse, he never loved someone as much as he loves Claire.

_And he lost her, again, _I heard a voice inside me argue. This would be killing him, it must be. Maybe he was right, it was too late to save Claire but I could offer him closure. Peace. I owed him as much.

But at the same time, he was an important part of Morganville. The _most _important part. If we lost Myrnin _and _Claire, the town would fall apart. No machine, no borders, no portals, no funder houses, no lights. It would be a disaster, which is entirely the opposite to what we needed right now. It would allow the resistance group to win, because if Morganville fell apart, they would be able to sweep in and take control. That was mostly likely their plan, anyway.

"No, Myrnin" I decided, "It's too dangerous." I waved my hand at him, shooing him out of the room.

Myrnin's POV

How could she say that? Did she really not care? Especially after Sam, I would have expected to _try _at least. This was _Claire _we were talking about, not a random, meaningless human. Amelie had a soft spot for Claire, why would she give up so easily?

I ran around the lab, collecting together a bag full of weapons. Flamethrowers, liquid silver, bullets, stakes. Anything I thought I might need. Alive or not, I was getting Claire back. Even if she _was _dead - I would have to see it to believe it - she deserved more than this after everything she'd done. She didn't deserve to rot away in some cell far away, she deserved a proper goodbye.

I felt a tear drip down my face, but I quickly wiped it away. Now wasn't the time for emotions to get in my way. I needed to be 100% alert whilst I was doing this Even a second lapse in concentration could be fatal.

I _was _going to rescue Claire, and I would do it alone. Amelie and Oliver were both obviously unwilling to help and when I dropped in to the Glass House before, Claire's 'friends' didn't look too happy. They told me to leave it all to Amelie, that they trusted her.

They were so laidback about it, too. They were watching TV, as if nothing was happening. As if Claire _wasn't _about to die any second. As if they didn't even care. They just waved me away and went back to watching zombies or whatever.

"Hold on _fy cariad," _I said to the air, somehow hoping that Claire could hear it wherever she was. I didn't know where they had her but I _knew _Oliver did. He'd been acting sucspicious lately, even more than usual. Amelie didn't see it, but I did. I saw right through his facade, he knew exactly where they were situated.

I set off,it was still daytime. Just about. The sun didn't bother me too much, I was old enough to handle most of it and everytime it burned, I'd remind myself as of why I was doing this. It was all for her. _Claire. _I would burn to death,if only it meant I could see her one last time.

I arrived at the Common Grounds and managed to sneak past the barista. She was on her phone, oblivious to the fact that I was going out back. Good, it needed to stay that way. I didn't want to have to kill the girl, but between her and Claire? We all know who I'd choose.

Now, I thought. If I was murdering, possesive freak, where would I hide a map which held the keys too my reputation with the most powerful vampire in town. In a book? Within a sock drawer (that made me shudder)? No, I knew Oliver, I knew where he'd hide it.

He had a medieval portrait on his wall, it came over with a light pop and behind it hid a safe. The password was 'CROMWELL', as I'd suspected and the safe opened. There were jewels and money hidden inside, along with some letters from Oliver's past affairs. The thing that I was looking for though, was a map. I almost didn't see it, it was taped to the top of the safe. I picked it out and flicked through it, wasting no time.

There was a building with a circle around it. The building itself was quite common, but below it, there was plenty of torture chambers and tunnels which would lead to Claire. I did a small happy dance and span around.

"What, exactly, do you think you are doing?" Oliver asked.


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver was staring at me with fire in his eyes. He looked like he was going to explode. I flashed past him, wind whipping around me and managed to get away. I used my vampire speed all the way to where I knew Claire was. I stopped to catch the breath that I didn't need. I knew that Oliver would make me pay later, and so would Amelie but I didn't care. I had to get to her.

Claire's POV

Another kick to my chest, knocking the breath out of my lungs. Ryan smashed me into the wall whilst James held me down.

_Please_, I begged silently, _someone rescue me. I don't want to die like this._

But that wasn't going to happen, Amelie had made her decision and she wasnt going to go back on it now. My captures were going to beat me to death, and tomorrow, Amelie would be dead too. I just wanted it to happen quickly, I didn't want to _feel _anymore.

There was a rustle and a door creaking from outside of the room. Both James and Ryan paused to listen to it. Nothing. They carried on hitting me and I burst into tears. _God, _I thought, _had I really believed that someone would bother to rescue me? They've all made it clear that I'm no more than a pawn in their games. They don't -_

My thoughts were cut off as James dropped to the floor, his neck twisted at a strange angle. Something, or someone had broken his neck. Ryan immediatley rushed to him. But there was only the three of us here, how did James just drop? Unless...

Unless we weren't alone at all.

Arms lifted me up and I whimpered a bit at the pain. A voice whispered to me, "Shh. I've got you now, _cariad."_

I recognized that voice. _Myrnin! _I felt my heart stop for a second. Was this really happening? Was I really being saved? Was this all just a cruel trick that my mind was playing on me? Or even worse, was I already dead? Was this all a hallucination?

I felt the air rushing around me, we weren't inside anymore, and Myrnin was running. Probably to hospital or something like that. But it was too late, I'd lost too much blood. My head was hurting and opening my eyes hurt. My chest was in agony and my breaths were short and wheezy. My heart kept palpitating, skipping then forcing another tired beat.

Myrnin was obviously picking up on my pain, "Hold on, we're nearly there." That was lie, even I knew that. The hospital was still at least a 5 minute run away and the nearest doctor would be even further. I wasn't going to make it. _I'm so sorry, Myrnin, _I thought as I let my self give in.

Myrnin's POV

_Damnit, Claire, _I thought, _don't give up._

But it was too late, her heart had already stopped. It'd stopped a couple times on my way to the hospital, but now it was different. Everything had stopped and her whole body was limp. Oh god, I knew what I would have to do but if it went wrong, she'd hate me. It was the only option I had left, though.

I could deal with the possibility that she could have been already dead before I got to her. What I couldn't deal with was that she was dying in my arms, and I could save her. I was selfish enough that I didn't care if it went wrong, and she hated me forever as long as I didn't lose her.

I layed her down on the ground and used my fangs to tear into my wrist. A river of blood poured out and I put it too her mouth. Nothing happened. _Drink, Claire! _I telapathically thought to her. As if by some miracle, she began too swallow. She whimpered a little but I saw colour return to her cheeks and her heart began to beat again. A little fast, but that was probably with the shock and stress of everything that had happened. I smiled, a little. She was alive.

I picked her up into my arms again and she curled into me. She was consious, but she didn't really know what she was doing. I felt butterflies fluttering inside of me and I couldn't help the grin that came to my face. Was this was being in love felt like? I wasted no more time thinking about it as I began to run towards the hospital again. Yes, had healed Claire with my blood, but it was temporary and it wouldn't last that long before she'll crash. When she does, she'll need doctors to help her.

I ran into the A&E and screamed for doctors to help us. When they saw Claire all bruised and bleeding they all gathered around her in seconds, shouting about stuff that I had no idea about. I just sat back and let them deal with her. A doctor came to me a minute or two later, asking for her name, age, address and other basics like that. I obliged.

As soon as he left, I saw a blonde and silver swirl from the corner of my eye. Amelie was standing in the corner of the nearly empty waiting room, beckoning me forward. I felt like a cowardly puppy with his tail between his legs as I slowly walking over to her.

"Myrnin, I ordered you not to try and rescue Claire and you directly disobeyed me..." she began.


	6. Chapter 6

"What is the problem, mi'lady?" I asked, feigning politeness. I was still furious that she was perfectly willing to let Claire die.

"I told you not too!" She whined, sounding even younger than little Claire.

"I am alive, you remain to have full control over Morganville and she is alive too, for now at least," I told her blankly, "It worked out well in the end, did it not."

She sighed, non-verbally admitting that I was right. I nodded at her and returned to my seat in the corner of the waiting room. To my surprise, Amelie joined me.

"I didn't want her to die," Amelie said without looking at me. She took a deep breath that she didn't need, "I do like her, you know. I look at Claire as a friend, sometimes even a younger relative. But the needs of many must come before the needs of one, please understand that" She sounded like she was begging for my forgiveness. She genuinely sounded sorry. Was that was Amelie's way of apologising then?

"I know" I replied softly but I didn't lift my gaze up from the floor. It was almost silent in the hospital now, since it was night time.

Amelie disappeared for a while to call Claire's roommates. Personally, I don't think she should have called them. When I told them I was rescuing her, they didn't seem to care at all. Admittedly, Shreve and the Glass boy asked about it, but they didn't put a lot of effort. It was mainly Claire's boyfriend, Shame or whatever, that really made me see red. He didn't even look up from the TV before he shooed me away.

"They're on their way" she told me, sitting down. I nodded, I had nothing to say.

About 10 minutes later, a doctor came out from the reception, "Are you here for Claire Danvers?"

"Yes," I said, standing up quickly, Amelie following me, "Is she okay?"

"2 broken ribs and some major bruising. She has quite a severe concussion, also," he explained, "She's healing surprising quickly though, so that a good sign."

Amelie gave me a suspicious look and I swallowed, she turned to the doctor and asked politely "Could I speak with her? Alone."

He looked shocked, "Yes, I suppose so but I'm not sure how much you'll get out of her, we have given her some pain medication which will make her very drowsy. Follow me"

Claire's POV

My eyes fluttered open and all I saw was white. I momentarily panicked but soon realised that I was in hospital. Safe. Well, as safe as you can get in Morganville, anyway. I heard my door creak open and my head snapped over in that direction. For some reason, I assumed that it would be Ryan coming to avenge James' death.

It wasn't, it was just Amelie. She was wearing a cream skater dress with pearls around her neck. Her hair was down in waves and she didn't look intimidating, as she usually did. I don't know whether the meds I was taking changed my reaction to fear, or whether Amelie _actually _tried to look friendly.

"Hello," She said and pulled a seat over and sat down next to my bed. I felt inadequate next to her. She looked really pretty and I probably looked like a potato or something.

"Hi," I croaked out. Damn, my throat hurt pretty bad.

Amelie swept my hair behind my ear in a mothery way and smiled, "Claire, Myrnin was worried that you would feel bad about everything that has happened. He says that it would imply that I didn't care for you, that is not true. I do care about your well being Claire, but I had to do what would benefit the most people. I am very sorry for everything you endured. You may rest assured that I will do everything in my power to bring justice to those who hurt you"

"S'okay..." I mumbled.

Amelie smiled at me again and she passed me a glass of water. I smiled back at her politely. This was nice. Amelie was being surprisingly caring and kind. She really seemed sorry. It was definitley a pleasant change from her usual -

Wait! What time was it? 10:00pm on the 4th March, it read on the clock. Oliver was going too kill Amelie tomorrow night. I gasped and leaned over to Amelie, tapping her shoulder, water spilling all over the blankets.

Amelie looked terrified, reaching out too me, "Claire? What's wrong?"

"Ol-" I mumbled, then coughed, "Oliv-" I couldn't say it properly. My throat was burning and the medications made it hard to actually say anything.

"Oliver?" Amelie asked. My heart rate monitor machine was going pretty fast now.

I nodded, "He's... going too.." I coughed and a doctor ran into the room. They shooed Amelie out and wheras normally, she would have been offended, she just looked worried. I tried to tell them to stop, that I was fine and that I needed to tell Amelie something but the doctor just shushed me and stabbed the crook of my elbow with some form of drug. I started drifting off into medically-induced sleep, but I didn't go peacefully.

I was so frustrated. Amelie was right there! I almost told her! I could of saved her, but now she'd probably still end up dead. Damnit. I couldn't let Oliver take over, I couldn't. He'd let all the humans die and put everything in danger. I just hoped that what I'd said to Amelie was enough to make her curious enough to investigate or at least, that one of her guards had been listening and knew to watch out. I really, really hoped.


	7. Chapter 7

When I woke up, it was 3am. My legs were cramped from being curled up in bed for so long and I needed to get up. I walked over to the table at the end of my room. Clearly, someone - probably Myrnin or Eve - had rearranged it all. There was a vase with flowers and a few get well cards. One from Michael, Eve and Shane. One from Amelie. One from Myrnin and one from... Oliver?

Why had Oliver gotten me a get well soon card? I pretty sure that he didn't want me to get well soon since he left me for dead and the fact that I knew one of his biggest secrets. Once he found out that I was still alive, he must have realized that I would know about his assassination's plans surely.

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer would be yes," I heard Oliver announce from behind me. I span around to face him immediately, gasping as I did so.

"Yes?" I repeated, confused. Obviously I knew what he meant but hearing him say it out loud would at least give me proof.

"Yes, I know that you heard my plans," Oliver growled, "It was my intentions,"

Something told me that it wasn't his intentions for me to hear about what he was going to do to Amelie. I told him this, "You must have known that I would tell her,"

I felt like a child next to him. My threats of telling Amelie made me feel like I was back in preschool, threatening to tell the teacher on another child who was doing something that they shouldn't have been. I've always been a goody-two-shoes.

Oliver's eyes blinked red for a second before turning back to their normal shade of brown, "Why, Claire? It will be so much better when I rule this town." He looked hurt, as though he was _actually _offended that once again, I had chosen Amelie over him.

"How will it be? You'll kill all the humans!" I half-yelled. I didn't want to attract any attention to the situation. All the people working here were humans and any one who tried to help would end up dead, knowing Oliver.

"I will restore this town to it's former glory, with the vampires being the predators and the humans in their rightful spot as prey," So basically what I said then? He continued, pacing now, imagining Morganville under his control. He was crazy. Well and truly insane, "Morganville will be the city of all cities, with you as my second in command"

Me? Second in command? That was tempting. I'd always wanted to have power, I'll be honest. I've always wanted to be able to control people the way Amelie, hell, Even Oliver did. To have people respect me and do as I say. But no, it wouldn't be like that. There'd be a catch. With Oliver, there was _always _a catch. Besides, I couldn't do that to Amelie. She worked hard for Morgnville, it wasn't fair for Oliver to just take it from her.

"What if I didn't want to be your second in command?" I asked angrily, "It's not fair to Amelie. She trust you."

"Then you will die," he said firmly, "Don't bother with Amelie child, she knows better than to trust me."

"Does she?" I ask.

"She does," Oliver confirmed. I started to gently back away, towards the phone. If I could just get to phone and ring 911, I could save Amelie. There was a moment of silence, but as soon as I put my hand onto the phone, Oliver snapped. He slamme me into the wall.

"Don't you dare!" Oliver screamed at me, lifting me up by my throat "I'll give you one last chance! Say you won't tell her!"

The second he put me down, I bolted. I had the element of surprise on my side otherwise there was no way, I could outrun Oliver. I ran down the hospital coridoor in my bare feet and pyjamas. My body hurt, but I ignored the pain. I had to get away. I turned and saw Oliver turning around the corner, he would catch up any second now. It was no use.

I went into the nearest door. It was a set of stairs. I ran up them as fast as I could, hoping that it would at the very least, confuse Oliver and slow him down a few seconds. But luck was not on my side. I came out onto the roof of the hospital. We were like 10 stories up and the stairs that I had just went up were the only way on or off of the roof. _Great._

Oliver came out of the fire exit sithing. He was furious, he grabbed me by the face and pushed me back. I was right over the edge of the roof now.

"Say you won't tell her!" he screamed at me.

"Why shouldn't I?" I screamed back in his face. He grabbed my neck and pushed me right up against the balcony now, I gasped as it creaked dangerous. I dared to glance down. _Bad idea._ We were so far up that the cars parked below looked like dots, I could barely even make out the bays, we were so far up. The wind whistled and howled around us as I slowly turned back to look at Oliver.

Oliver slammed me against the railing again. This time, it caved in. I'd never wanted Amelie or Myrnin or Michael or any vampire, for that matter, so much in my entire life. I desperatly wanted Myrnin to swoop in and save me again.

I felt the air whip around me as I fell. It was almost like a cold, concealing hug. I suppose that as far as deaths, go this wasn't bad.

All I could think about was Myrnin, Myrnin, Myrnin. These were my last thoughts and he was all that covered them. I never knew that I loved him so much, I knew he liked me. I guess I'd nver get to tell him.

I was angry, not at Oliver, at myself. For everything I wouldn't do. I wouldn't spend time with Myrnin again, I'd never go shopping with Eve again or ever kiss Shane for the last time. No, I was dead. The only person I could blame was myself. I should have just said yes. Now, as I was hitting the ground at god-knows-how-many-miles-per-hour, all I could think is what my tombstone would read:

CLAIRE DANVERS, KILLED FROM STUBBORNESS.


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver's POV

I watched her fall, my limbs frozen in place. I really hadn't meant for her to die tonight, I had meant only to scare her into keeping my secret from Amelie. Claire was very smart, and very important.

There was no way that madman, Myrnin was going to become loyal to me, he was already foolishly loyal to Amelie. Claire, however... Claire could do everythng that Myrnin could do and I would have had more of a chance of convincing her to betray Amelie. And if I didn't convince her, she was a thousand times easier than the fool to compell.

Except she wasn't. I'd tried to compell her in the hospital room but it hadn't worked. She hadn't even flinched. I should have expected it. Claire was stronger than most humans, and she was particually strong against vampire tricks. I should have known that she would fight it.

I looked over the balcony at her body. She was twisted into a weird shape. She'd broke her spine and skull from what I could tell. I raced down stairs, using vampire speed. Nobody could know that I'd killed her. They would begin to suspect that I was up to something, which, of course was true but I wasn't ready for them to know yet.

I flashed over to her, checking for a pulse - there wasn't any. She was dead. I swung her limp body over my shoulder and flashed all the way to the Common Grounds. I dumped her body outside, in the alley, where no one expect I could see into.

It would be okay, for now. I would only have to hide it until tomorrow afternoon. By then, Amelie would be dead and Morganville would be mine. Then, I could admit to killing Claire Danvers and nobody could say anything since I would be the ruler then.

I barely slept that night. Generally, vampires don't sleep a lot anyway, but tonight was even worse. I got about an hour and a half's sleep before I was rudely awoken by the sound of my phone bleeping. I considered launching it out the window, but I held onto my patience long enough to read what the text said.

_We have a problem, meet me as soon as possible. Amelie._

I smiled to myself. I guess I wouldn't have to figure out a way to manipulate Amelie into meeting me alone. She was doing that for me. Today, everything was going right.

Claire's POV-

Dark. That's all I could see. Dark and it's darkness. There was no sound, no smells, no light. Just nothingess for everything I knew. The only reason I knew I was even awake was my thoughts swirling around in my brain and the burning. Was this what being dead felt like?

The back of my throat burnt. I felt tired and sick, but different. It wasn't painful, like I logically knew it should be and my body didn't hurt how it should. My head should be pounding from the fall and my chest and breathing should be wheezy from the broken ribs, but no. All I felt was the burning sensation.

Suddenly, light began to trickle into my eyes. Slowly, but surely, I was starting to make out shapes. Then I opened my eyes. Wait! Wasn't I dead? I fell from a 10 story building for God's sake!

I sat up slowly, where the hell was I? Next to me was a 7 foot wall and some black bin bags full of rubbish. I looked up, the sky was bright blue. I could smell something. That was strange, I shouldn't be able to... Wait! Was that coffee I could smell?

I stood up quickly and followed the scent to a door. I put my eye to it, trying to work out something. At first I couldn't hear anything, but when I listened - really _listened - _I could make out voices and conversations. I heard someone asking for an espresso and some girls gossiping and laughing. Coffee and drama? That could only mean 1 thing; I was at the Common Grounds.

I was about to burst inside and ask Oliver what had happened when everything came back to me. Being kidnapped. The phone call. Myrnin rescuing me. My 'conversation' with Amelie. My argument with Oliver. Being pushed over the roof of the hospital.

My memories were coming back to me now. Slowly, but surely. I started to panic. What day was it? What time? Would Oliver have gotten to Amelie already? I had to get to her. I felt my pockets for my phone but they were empty. Then I realised that I was still wore my grey sweatpants and band t-shirt and socks. _Great. _But still, I had to get to Amelie.

I ran out to the front of the Common Grounds as fast as I could. It took me less than a few seconds. What the hell? Why did I run so fast? Why was my throat still burning like hell?

Then another memory flashed back into my head. This time it was when Amelie changed Michael into a vampire. She'd fed him blood then killed him.

No no no no no no no no no.

This couldn't be happening. Myrnin fed me his blood then Oliver pushed me over the side of the hospital, killing me.

I was a vampire.


	9. Chapter 9

But, wait! If I was a vampire, shouldn't I be burning right now, considering I was lying in the sun. Every made sense, quick speed, HD eyesight, the... thirst. Except the sun thing. Vampires were known for there extreme allergy to sunlight and if I was a vampire, I was missing the most important characteristic.

I put it to the back of my mind. There was still time to save Amelie (and therefore, Morganville). I could ask whether I was a vampire later. Now, I just had to save her.

Save now, worry later.

I noticed that I was still wearing Amelie's trademark golden bracelet. It was normally swirling but it had no faded. It was weak and flimsy, as though it could break any second. That was definite bad sign. The contract I'd signed made me Amelie's for the rest of both of our lives. If it was breaking, it meant only two things were possible; Amelie was dead, or I was.

Some of the magic was retained though. It gave me a pull to somewhere that I knew would lead to Amelie. I just had to follow it and find her. I let my feet control me.

Luckily, the Common Grounds wasn't too far away from where Amelie was. About half an hour while running, but I didn't get tired, just thirsty. I appeared at a ivory coloure house with ivy swinging down around it. So this was were Amelie lived? It was beautiful, although I didn't expect any less from the founder.

The scene was ruined however, at the sight of two decapitated guards lying limply infront of the front door. It was very gruesome, and I had to take a deep sigh to remind myself that I had to do this. I walked inside, using my newfound grace to be silent. I wondered if Oliver would be able to hear me. Did he know I was a vampire, or did he expect me to still be lying in a ditch when he got back to the Common Grounds? Hopefully, it was the latter.

I heard voices from upstairs although I couldn't make them out yet. I flashed to outside of the door where they were talking. Fortunatly, they hadn't noticed me here. Or if they had, they hadn't said anything, anyway.

"The hospital night nurses said they haven't heard anything suspicious, either..." I heard Amelie whisper sadly.

I heard a crash and Myrnin growling, "Damnit, Amelie, you should have let _me _stay with her instead of that human, he's no good for her. He left her alone"

"I only went for coffee," Shane protested. He was quiet, not really sounding angry, but I could only imagine the scowl on his face and anger in his eyes. He didn't like vampires, as it was, but having one blame him for me getting hurt would make him see red, surely.

"Yes, and look at what happened," Myrnin snarled, his words like venom, "You're supposed to love her and you let her go missing again."

"You little bloo-"

Shane was cut off, by Oliver, speaking smoothly and emotionlessly, "Calm down, no harm will come Claire. She had ensured that herself,"

"What are you talking about?" Michael blurted out. I'm sure everyone else in the room was thinking the same thing. Hell, even I was wondering what he was talking about. No harm would come to me? Oliver pushed me off of a building, of course harm had came to me!

"This is all one of the girl's plots, I'm afraid," Oliver looked around at the confused faces staring at him before explaining, "She was not supposed to be rescued, you see. Claire was planning on faking her death and leaving town. She is part of a pro-human revolution gang and that would be the perfect way to gain sympathy for her!" What. The. Fuck. Seriously? Oliver was telling the that I 'faked my own' death to get sympathy for a pro-human group.

That wasn't even the worst thing. Although it was silent, I could see a bit through the crack of the door. Nobody was defending me or protesting. They all acted like they believed that bastard! Damnit, I was so angry. I wanted to run in there and rip his head off. I wanted to scream and defend myself, but I knew that I couldn't. Well... Not until the time was right, anyway.

"Claire wouldn't do that," Shane argued. Thank you! Finally, someone who knows me and has even a miniscule amount of sense.

"Of course she would," Oliver growled back, showing his fangs, "She's not the girl you thought you knew. She is just trying to save herself, that's why she ran away"

Silence, again. This time, Amelie spoke up first, actually sounding... Hurt? "Order my guards to find her and bring her to me for punishment. The only thing I hate more than betrayal is betrayal from someone we trusted,"

After all I had done? The hours of work put in to making an endless amount of machines. All the lives, friendships and grades I had sacrificed for Amelie and her town, and this is how I am paid? By being shrugged off as a 'betrayer' and nothing else. Brushed away like an annoying speck of dust on one of her fancy suits. Like I meant/did nothing for this town.

I didn't even bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. It was all about how they could defend themselves from humans and I wasn't even mentioned once. Great. Obviously no one cared much about me, if they got rid of me that easily.

Soon, they'd see. They'd all see!


	10. Chapter 10

"I will no longer hear of any of this nonsense!" Amelie yelled over the sounds of arguing, "Myrnin, open a portal for our guests and yourself and leave me in peace, so I can figure out what to do about Claire,"

"But.." Myrnin began.

"No, Myrnin!" Amelie yelled, "Oliver and I will talk about this... Alone!"

I saw Oliver look at the floor and smile mischeviously. Everything was going perfect for him. He hadn't needed to come up with an excuse to get Amelie alone, she'd done that for him. The Founder slumped herself down on to the red sofa that was in the corner of the room. She poured herself a glass of a drink that I couldn't make out and waiting for Myrnin to leave before drinking it. As soon as the door slammed shut, she gulped the drink down and sighed loudly.

"Is it true, Oliver?" She asked, sounding worn out. I guess she was. Being founder of a town as full of drama as Morgaville is can't be easy, surely. She had been tired for a while, most likely. The only difference was that her walls couldn't hold it up any longer. It was starting to bring her down.

Was that why Oliver had waited until now to finish her off? Waited until she trusted (and sometimes, even loved) him and at a time where he was stressed and off-guard? Even I had to admit that he was smart. A different 'smart' to Myrnin and I, but still very smart, just equally disgusting.

"Of course, Ma'am," He sounded upset that Amelie had questioned him even for a second, "Claire Danvers fooled us all. But then, again, she's a smart girl, of course she fooled us,"

Amelie sighed and clinked her glass onto the table next to the sofa as Oliver's eyes followed her, "It's just... It's just that she tried to warn me,"

"Who?"

"Claire,"

Oliver froze, hesitating for just a second, but long enough to make Amelie curious, surely, "Well... Well, what did she say to you?" He chuckled nervously, thinking that I might have given away his secret.

"I'm not sure, She just kept saying your name and then freaked out" Amelie told him quietly, "She must have known what you knew about her," Damnit. For a second, I thought that Amelie had figured it out but no, she was still falling for Oliver's little fake story, hook line and sinker.

Amelie looked down for a second and Oliver pulled out a silver stake with a wooden handle. It was obviously designed specificallly for Oliver. Whoever made it knew that he would kill Amelie. When Amelie looked up, I heard her gasp softly.

"No, Claire tried to warn you because _she _knew what I was going to do,"Oliver explained, anger seeping through his words, "But don't worry, I took care of her,"

"What do you mean?" Amelie asked, sounding younger than me. Her voice was high-pitches and it sounded innocent as she scooted quickly away from Oliver

"I killed her. I pushed her over the top of the building, it wasn't pretty trust me," Oliver told her, sounding proud of himself. I wanted to vomit. Was he seriously proud that he (even though he didn't) killed me? Wow, he was more phsyco than I'd ever thought.

It all happened in seconds, and I knew that if it wasn't for a mix of new vampire perks and adrenaline, I wouldn't have seen it all, let alone reacted to it. Oliver pulled a silver stake with a wooden handle out of his pocket and gave a creepy smile at Amelie who was still confused. He wasted no time launching at her, the stake extended.

Time seemed to pause at that moment as I stared into Amelie's face. She wore an expression I'd never seen before; a mix of pain and anger. That made sense, I guess. She _had _loved him and he betrayed her in the worst way. Of course, she was upset.

I ran, using my vampire speed and the element of surprise in front of Oliver, just as he pushed the stake towards Amelie. He pushed it into my shoulder as I reached out at him, grabbing his neck and twisting while still in mid-air. It felt strange, but a good strange. The vampire vision and speed was working well for me, wasn't it? I almost _loved _this vampire thing!

Oliver crumpled on to the floor and Amelie appeared behind me. She was taking deep breaths that she didn't really need, though I supposed that it was more a of an emotional thing than physical. She stared down at him with disappointment and I could have swore that I saw tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away so fast that even I couldn't see them properly.

I grabbed the stake in my shoulder and gave it a tug, before it could do any damage. It came straight out and my blood poured out onto my t-shirt but my body healed quickly, just not too quickly for Amelie to notice.

"It's different," she said in between a breath, "Your blood doesn't smell human," She stood up to face me, staring right down at me. She was probably searching for the signs that I was a vampire.

"I don't think that I am human anymore, Ma'am," I replied politely, and even I heard the twinge of sadness in my voice as it hit me was being a vampire meant. I'd be giving up so much: Science, food, innocence, trust, and most importantly, Shane. This time, my new-found fast healing from injuries couldn't stop my heart from breaking right down the centre.


	11. Chapter 11

There was clunks and clatters as the surviving members of Amelie's guard took Oliver off, hopefully to prison. Amelie had whisked me away to a small office, where we hadn't spoke in the last 10 minutes.

"Do you think I am?" I asked, unable to say the word now that the adreanline rush had worn off and reality of what I could be hit me. _A vampire._

"There is no way for us to know quite yet. On one hand, you are not affected by the sun," Amelie sighs and shuffles some papers on her desk, "But if this is only the effects of vampire blood, then you should have '_crashed' _a while ago".

I nod and look down. I couldn't go home now. I remember how it had been when Michael had turned into a vampire an imagined how I would feel, how I would cope, if it was me. Eve was nervous around him and Shane full out hated him. I couldn't deal with it, if they hated me. No, I can't tell them, not even Michael. I'll wait until I know I have full control before going to see them again. I could hide. They wouldn't have to know. That's assuming I actually _am _a vampire, of course. Maybe I won't be and everything will be normal. Even as I think it, I know I am deluding myself with lies.

Amelie gets up and leaves the room, she starts talking to someone. At first, I can't hear them, but then I remember that I could, if I wanted to. I focus my mind on figuring out what they're saying and I can hear them easily.

"She needs to be watched, we can't leave her on her own," Amelie.

"She can't go home either, she'd hate herself if she hurt them," Myrnin.

Who's _she? _Wait, are they talking about me? My non-beating heart jumped and flickered with pain. It's one think labelling myself as dangerous but it's one thing hearing other people agreeing with me. At least, I tell myself, they care about Shane, Eve and Michael. They'll be safe; that's what matters.

I walk over to the door and slam it open. Amelie and Myrnin look at me briefly before sharing a knowing look. Amelie puts her hands on my shoulders and I realise how bad I must look. First, I was nearly killed after being kidnapped for 3 days. Then, I was in hospital where I fell off a building which was followed by being staked with silver by a thousand year old vampire. Surely, I didn't look my best.

Amelie gave me a sad look, making me think that she might _actually _care about me, "Myrnin and I have agreed that it is in your best intrests for you to stay at the lab until we can figure out what to do with you,"

I nod and they look surprised. I guess they expected more of a fight from me, but to be completly honest, it's been a very long few days and right now, I don't want to do anything but cry and sleep. I've done enough fighting lately, both from Oliver and the rebels, and for my life. I'm not sure that I'll ever what to ever fight again.

I'm led out to a limousine and pushed into quickly. Amelie and Myrnin follow me in, guarding me. I get the feeling however, that they're not protecting me, they're protecting people _from _me. After all, I'm a monster now; one of the bad guys without wanting to be.

None of us talk on the way home. Or, at least, I don't. Amelie and Myrnin chattered away about science things and town funding and recent crimes, but nothing important. I didn't listen anyway. I just kept my head down, following the patterns off the floor and twiddling my thumbs.

Unconsciously, I find myself putting a hand to my throat. I can't breathe. All my air feels wispy and weak. Like something is sitting on my chest, holding me down, stealing the oxygen from my lungs. My throat is on fire, burning right down my chest. I blink bank tears. I haven't fed since I woke up this morning. I don't know exactly how vampires work or how much they drink, but I from Michael, that you have to drink everyday, at least when you're a newborn. This can't be good. I feel myself struggling, but Amelie and Myrnin don't notice.

Instead, they pull up outside of the alleyway and open the door for me. Myrnin pushes me out of the limousine with a hand on my back. I shiver at his light touch. I don't know whether it's because I'm extra sensitive right now or whether it's because it's _him, _which is something I can't afford to think about now.

My chest suddenly becomes heavier as I catch the scent: strawberries, sugar and liquor. A university student that has obviously gotten lost on her way home. She stumbles round clumsily. I panic instantly, fear washing over me. I can't breathe and my throat flares up again. I have to do something.

I only have a second to see Myrnin look at Amelie, wearing an expression that could only be described as shock and horror. He reaches out to grab me and hold me back but he only grabs the material of my t-shirt an get away from him. Amelie starts to run out of the limousine and towards me, but it's too late. I pin the girl down and bite into her neck instinctively, feeling euphoric as her life slips away when the red liquid trickles down my throat.


	12. Chapter 12

It's not until the girl slumps to the floor and Amelie and Myrnin stand in shock, staring at me that I realise what I've done. I've just done the one thing I swore I never would: I took an innocent life. I killed her.

I take a deep breath that I don't need and stare at her. Her neck is tilted slightly and she looks incredibly pale, almost as though she's a demon like I am. But that's not what I look at, I'm staring at the bite mark on her neck. It's small, but it's messy - the signs of a newborn, inexperienced vampire. Her blonde hair is stained with red and it's matted and stuck to the side of her neck. Glazed, blue eyes stare into nothing, fear etched everywhere within them. Did I really do this? I guess that answers Amelie's questions. I really _am _a monster now.

"No, no, no," I whimper, falling down onto my knees beside her limp body. I search frantically for a pulse, although we all already know that I won't find one. She's dead. I killed her. Those two sentences keep swirling around in my head as I start sobbing hysterically.

"Claire," I hear Myrnin say and I feel him pulling me too my feet. I cover my face with my hands, I don't want him to know what I am. I'm terrified that if he saw me, he would hate me, like I hate myself.

"It's okay, Claire, you're still knew at this," He says softly, as if reading my thoughts, "I've lost control far more times that you ever will, I won't judge you"

"It's not okay, she's dead," I scream at him, and I'm only half aware that Amelie is behind me, ordering guards to clean up the body. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the limo and I look terrible. My clothes are creased and stained, and my hair is all over the place too. I look as though I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. That's not what breaks me, though, it's the sight of my face. There's blood covering my mouth and my new fangs are sticking out as I cry. My eyes are flaming red, and I look how I feel. Like a monster.

I don't know how we get there, but when I look up I'm in the lab. Myrnin pushes me into an armchair and tells me not to move. I don't. When he returns, he's holding a wet cloth and he's scrubbing my face. I keep sobbing as he tells me that it's okay, that no one will know and he'll help me. He won't let it happen again.

"I'm a monster," I tell him, "I didn't want this, Myrnin. I promise, I didn't want to kill her,"

"You could never be a monster," He replies, "You made one tiny mistake, it's okay,"

I want to scream that draining the life out of someone because you couldn't handle being thirsty isn't the same as if I spilled something. I didn't just make a 'tiny mistake', I took someone's life away. Who knows what they were? A sister? A daughter? A mom? But at the same time, his words soothe me and eventually, I calm down enough to realise that Amelie is sitting on the stairs, watching me carefully.

"Claire..." She says and for some reason, she sounds sad, as if this upsets her, too.

"Don't tell Shane," I blurt out, not caring that I interupted her and it's 'bad manners', "Or Michael. Or Eve. Tell them you're making me work with Myrnin,"

"You can keep it from them forever," she says, and I realise that forever has a different meaning now. Before, forever was 80 or so years. Now, it's infinite. Shane and I won't last for my forever, because now, as he grows older, I will stay the same. We'll never have kids or grandkids. We'll never get married or do any of the good stuff now. I want to start sobbing again, but I think I'm all cried out.

"For now," I tell her, before adding a broken, "Please, Amelie,"

"For now," She repeats softly, her wide blue eyes staring into mine, "On the condition that you let Myrnin teach you how to control the thirst. He will teach you the rules of this life,"

I nod, Myrnin can do what he wants to me, as long as my friends never have to find out what I am. Sure, Michael will find out eventually, but for now, they don't need to know. I can't deal with them hating me, as well. Especially Shane. His instinct is to hate me now.

"I'll see you soon, Claire," Amelie tells me, then nods at Myrnin before leaving. Somehow, I know it's not the usual, 'see you later', she means it.

Myrnin and I are alone now, and when I check the time, it's nearly morning. Logically, I should we nearly falling asleep on my feet, but instead, I feel wide awake. Soon, the sun will rise and we will have another oppurtunity to test out my non-sensitivity to the sun.

I don't know what overtakes me but the next thing I know is that I'm shoving Myrnin against a wall and pushing my lips to his.

**Thank you to the following: **amy-vampire1, vampire1, cheesepuffzapper **as well as a huge thanks to **clairebear97 **who is one of the nicest people on here and always gives me lovely reviews. You guys inspire me to write more and more, thank you :)**


	13. Chapter 13

"It's no use!" I whine childishly, "We've been here for nearly 3 weeks now and I'm still not making any progress!"

"You are making progress, just... slow and steady, that's all," Myrnin argues. I know he's lying. As I told him before, we've been trying all day, every day for 3 weeks to get some kind of control over my thirst but it's not working. I'm still as wild and unpredictable as I was the day that I killed that girl in the alleyway.

I'm the only vampire that has been so slow to the learning. Not being able to do somethings annoys me so much, and knowing that I'm risking innocent people's lives by not being able to do it annoys me more. I try to channel my anger into the practices but as soon as I see the blood, something inside of me clicks and I can't help but try and get the red liquid in a way possible, no matter who gets hurt or dies.

Michael didn't even have to do this kind of training, he had perfect control right from the start. Other vampires struggled for the first 2 or 3 days then got better at it. As Myrnin unhelpfully told me one night, in his whole lifetime, I am one of 3 vampires who have keep losing control for over a week. Amelie killed the other two before they hurt someone, she thought that they would never recover.

So why am I still here? I've lasted three times as long as any of the other vampires that can't control the hunger. I _am _a danger to humans in Morganville, that was proved when I blindly drained a girl. Maybe she feels guilty, after all, I only became a vampire because I tried to help her. Maybe she feels like she owes it too me, after I saved her life. That would make sense, except for the fact that it's _Amelie _we're talking about. She's notorious for not letting her feelings get in the way of her role as founder. Even Myrnin agrees that this isn't like her at all.

I sigh, throwing myself down onto a seat in the lab. I put my head in my hands and as much as I feel like crying, I don't.

"Maybe we can leave today's work there," Myrnin says sheepishly, "You've worked hard,"

"Not hard enough..." I mutter under my breath, despite knowing full well that Myrnin can hear me clearly anyway.

"Stop beating yourself up, this is the hardest thing a vampire can do. You _have_ made progess, honestly!" I can read Myrnin like a book, I _know _he's lying. I nod though, realising that he's making a huge effort to be nice to me and it wouldn't be fair for me to just ignore that.

I stand up, "Shall we take today's blood sample then," That's Myrnin's second job, after trying to teach me. He has to try and find out why I'm not burning in the sun like all the other vampires. He has a theory that when I changed, my genetics went haywire and I still have aspects of human inside of me. We can't prove it though, so we keep running different tests every day to see what happens.

I jump up onto the desk, surprising myself with how graceful and light I've become since I change. Myrnin grabs a syringe and a vial and I hold out my arm, knowing exactly what he's going to do after weeks of watching him do it every day. He draws blood quickly and easily, watching as my small cut heals over before I even feel the needle in my arms.

"Do you want to talk about our-" He starts.

"No," I snap quickly, cutting him off before he has the chance to even say the word. _Kiss. _Our kiss. It was the night that I killed that girl. My emotions were heightened and I feel terrible for kissing him. I think that he really has feelings for me. Stratch that, I know he does! I do have _feelings_ for him too, but I _love_ Shane!

My perfectly human, adorable dork of a boyfriend is back in my head again. Appartently, he's been phoning Amelie nearly everyday asking about me but like she promised, she doesn't teell him that I'm a vampire. He knows that I'm in Morganville though, but he's been told that I was relocated and that I don't want to be found. I can't help but feel a pang of guilt thinking about what his reaction must have been like. He's probably confused and angry, after all, he just got me back before I leave him again. I get past it by telling myself that this best for him. The only reason I'm here with Myrnin is so that I can be safe around him.

Or atleast, I tell myself that's the only reason I'm staying with Myrnin.

It's only 3 o'clock which means I have some time to kill until it's dark enough that Myrnin can outside to teach me how to hunt. So for the next 4 or so hours, I watch TV, mess around with science stuff, study for classes that I probably won't ever get to attend again and cartwheel round the lab out of sheer boredom. It gets to the point where I think I'm driving Myrnin crazy (crazier than usual, anyway) when Amelie walks in.

She's wearing a pale beige suit and is back to looking like her normal, proud self. I'd been a bit worried about Amelie in the days following Oliver's attack and inprisonment. They'd been friends, sometimes more, and he betrayed her. Amelie likes to pretend that she don't get scared or feel upset but I think that secretly, she loves more deeply than anyone and hell, she can hold a grudge.

"Amelie," Myrnin greets, from the other side of the lab, nodding his head at her.

"Good evening Myrnin," I almost cough at her forgetting me, before she turns to me, "Good evening to you, also, Claire,"

I wonder why she's here. We hadn't been expecting her, this was definitly a surprise visit on her part. Amelie visited me regularily to check on me, but today was Thursday which meant that she shouldn't be here until tommorow. I instinctively thought it must have been a mistake until I remembered that Amelie rarely makes mistake, especially ones as small an basic as what day it was. She must be here for a reason.


	14. Chapter 14

**It's a filler chapter, sorry. The next chapter should be better though. Please review :)**

"Amelie..." Myrnin mutters, before using his polite voice to address his old friend/sometimes boss "What is the reason for your visit?".

"I came to inform you that there will be a masquerade ball this Saturday," Amelie told him firmly, as usual, no emotion that could be devrived from her voice. Somehow, I knew this was a message to me. She was making it clear that even though she showed me mercy and kindness before, it's over and she's back to her normal, cold self.

"It is most likely that I will not be able to attend," Myrnin replied calmly before bringing a bit of light humour to his voice, "Given the situation with Claire, at least,"

Oh, yes. The whole vampire/control thing. Damnit, I love masquerade balls, and I could see my friends and convince them that I'm okay which will get them off our backs, for a while at least. Maybe if I ask really nicely and be al convincing, they might let me go. Besides, it'd be perfect practice for future. After all, how do we know if I can control myself around humans if I'm never around them.

"I'm getting better though, I swear," I smile innocently at the founder, "Myrnin's been doing such a good job teaching me," I give him a cheeky grin as I watch him open his mouth and close it again, gaping like a fish. I have him trapped. He can't say that I'm not getting better because that would mean two things: A) he lied to me, and B) he's not doing his job propery and I don't think he feels like being in trouble with Amelie today.

The blonde vampire turns to Myrnin and raises her eyebrows at him, "Is that true? She is getting better?"

"Slowly but surely, Ma'am," He confirms, putting a subtle growl onto the 'slowly' part.

"Well, it's sorted then. The pair of you can attend," Amelie smiles genuinally, she really likes parties, I've noticed. She gives Myrnin a dirty look that confuses me, before adding, "Together"

I sigh inwardly. Going to a ball? Awesome! Going with Myrnin? No, not so much. Damnit, I wanted to talk to my boyfriend and best friends in peace, but that wouldn't happen now. After a few moments of sulking, I decide to cheer up. I may be going with one of the most annoying people on earth, but at least I'm _going._

I can't help but wonder why Amelie basically set me up with my boss. My _vampire _boss. She doesn't know about our kiss and our awkward relationship. Well, at least, I don't think she does. She spins and leaves the room dramatically. Myrnin was still shooting her daggers, but it's nothing compared to angry look he gives me when she's left.

"Claire! You can't go to that ball!" He exlaims as soon as the portal is empty.

"Why not?" I ask, feigning innocence. He stares at me for a few seconds, as if the answer is obvious, which it is. I raise my eyebrows at him with what I hope is a blank expression.

"Your supposed to go with somebody you love, Claire," He tells me, solemn and angry. He slams the stack of papers in his hands onto the desk and storms away to his bedroom. I feel a pang of guilt. He's right. I played with his emotions to get what I wanted from Amelie. I lay down on the sofa and take deep breaths that fail to do anything oher that comfort me. I have to figure this out.

He loves me, I knew that already. But he really, honestly _loves _me. Do I return those feelings? My brain screams no but my body and chest aches with the truth; I honestly do like him back. But what about Shane? I love him too! But I don't know if I'm _in love _with Shane anymore. I can't make a decision about who I love and what to do until I've seen Shane again. I can't make any moves with Myrnin until Shane and I are definitly over anyway. Stop thinking, Claire, I scold myself before I shake away all thoughts and let my mind go blank. I have to avoid them both. Shane _and _Myrnin. Atleast until I figure out how I feel, it's unfair to lead them on.

I poured myself into learning how to control the hunger. I still made no progress, but I had to try and convince Myrnin that I could be trusted to go to the masquerade ball. It was obvious that I was failing at this whole controlling thing, but neither of us would truly admit it.


	15. Chapter 15

**I felt like we needed more Clyrnin fluff XD Oh, and I also thought it was time to finally bring back Shane&the Glass House Gang into play. Mwa, enjoy :)**

Staring down at my reflection, I realise that for the first time in forever, I actually liked how I looked. I was wearing a baby pink mermaid dress with ribboned shoulders and a lace up back that I had tied into a bow as well as 6 inch heels with diamonds. I had sweeped my hair up into a romantic updo with carefully curled wisps framing my face. I wore a pink mask embroided with white ribbon. My skin was pale and flawless, but that was common for a vampire. Besides that, I looked like myself, just much better. I hoped nobody would realise that I was a vampire now. I mean, no humans anyway since it would be obviously to a fellow undead.

I was nervous to see everyone. I hadn't been seen in public in 3 weeks now and that alone would be difficult to explain. Then try explaining why I can't get to close to anyone incase I lose control and drain their blood. Yep, that was going to be hard.

I was especially worried about telling my friends. Michael would be angry at Amelie and Myrnin for not telling him and allowing this to happen. Eve would be pissed that I hurt someone, but at the end of the day, she's my best friend and she'd forgive me. Shane, though? Who knew how he would react? He'd either hate me or love me, and I don't which I'd honestly prefer.

"You look stunning, Claire," I heard a voice behind me and span around to face whoever it was. Myrnin was standing there holding a box and smiling at me. He wore a black suit with a pink corsage to match my dress. He had _that _look in his eyes again. The one that told me that he was completely and irreversibly in love with me. The look that made both of our hearts break.

"Thank you," I whispered and turned away from him. Suddenly, I felt his hands on my neck. I jumped about 5 feet in the air, "What the hell?"

The box he was holding was laying lopsided on the side of the table and he was holding a gold necklace with a plain diamond on it. It was gorgeous in its simplicity.

He gave me a crooked smile, "I figured you'd want help putting it on?"

"Oh," I mumbled, feeling sheepish and if vampires could blush, I'd be bright red by now, "It's beautiful,"

"It matches you, then?" He sighed sadly and continued, "Besides, I thought it was standard for men to bring gifts for their dates?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you, Myrnin," I whispered before spinning around to look at him. We were inches away, so close that I could feel his breath on my face. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he brushed my hair out of my eyes. I leaned up onto my tiptoes and put my hand on his cheek. He leaned towards and put his lips onto mine gently.

There was a cough from the corner of the room. Our heads snapped towards that direction instinctively. Amelie was leaning, very un-Amelie-like against the door of the portal. She had a mischievious smile and a light humor in her eyes.

"No time for canoodling, children, we have to attend a ball in 5 minutes" She said, before throwing her head back and laughing. Myrnin actually blushed and bowed his head. I ruffled his hair playfully, but I felt embarrassed too. Amelie, my protector/ultimate boss and scariest vampire in Morganville just caught me about to kiss her friend.

Amelie was stunning of course. She was wearing a long deep blue dress that had a slit on the side. She had diamonds, which were probably real knowing Amelie, covering the whole thing and her blonde hair was in a braided headband with pincurls around it. Even her hair had diamonds in it. She looked sophisticated and mature, which I definitly didn't. I felt like a toddler compared to her.

"You look really nice," I told her truthfully. She gave me a shocked look as though she hadn't heard anyone compliment her in years before smiling at me politely.

"Thank you, little Claire," Amelie answered politely. I almost growled at the use of that _annoying _nickname. It was one thing calling me little Claire when I first came to Morganville, but now it just annoyed me. Anyhow, I decided not to say anything because despite Amelie's strangely lovely mood, she could still be terrifying.

By the time we got to the hall, it was already swarming with people. I saw a few vampires dotted around, but most of them were human. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"You know, you don't have to do this," Myrnin told me, picking up on my angst. He put his hands on my shoulders and stared at me, "You can just say the words, and we can go back home,"

"No," I gasped, then my voice was firmer, "No, I can do this,"

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes." I told him simply. He nodded and helped me out of Amelie's limo even though I didnt need it anymore.

He gave me one of his smiles as I linked his arm and we headed into the party. I felt eyes on me as I walked in and the whole room went almost silent. Some were gaping and drooling (mainly the boys, of course), but most people were giving me daggers. _They're trying to figure out who the new vampire is, _I concluded. This was Morganville after all, as soon as they realised I was a vampire, I'd probably have hundreds of humans following me trying to kill me.

Thank God this was a _masquerade_ ball. At least nobody could really recognize me, although some people probably figured it out. Crap! This was a bad idea, after all. It didn't take a genius to figure out that I hadn't been seen by anybody in weeks and now Myrnin had brought a girl to a ball that had brown hair and was the same height as me? Of course they'd figure it out. They'd probably figure out that I was a vampire and _more_.

That's when a human girl walked past me. I caught the scent of her blood, like a fine wine coursing through her veins and I couldn't help but want it. I heard the rhythmic thump of her heart. Just as I thought that, I heard a hundred more heartbeats. It seemed like all the humans in the room were waving the red towel in my face, and I was couldn't help but chase it.

_Thump, thump, thump._

"Myrnin," I whispered, "This was a bad idea," I reached out for his hand and grabbed thin air. I spun around to look for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Myrnin?" I asked to the wall. Where was he? Had he seriously left me here with al the humans, knowing I could hurt them so easily.

"CB?" I heard someone ask, although in my state of mind, I couldn't remember who they were, "Are you okay?" I lifted my gaze to see a goth girl staring at me. Oh right, Eve.

_Thump, thump, thump._

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled unconvincingly.

"You don't seem fine," A male voice said and that's when I realised that standing a few feet away from Eve was Shane. Eve turned to look at him with an awkward look on her face, before looking at me again.

"Erm, I'm going to leave two," She gestured towards me and Shane, "Talk." Suddenly, my feet seemed really interesting.

_Thump, thump, thump._

"I haven't seen you for weeks," He started, "It's like you got out of the hospital and blew me off," The craving was killing me. I had to leave before it killed someone else, too.

"Listen Shane, I really have to-" I was cut off.

"No, I've waited weeks to talk to you," He said, holding his arms out to block me as I tried to dodge, "I just got you back. I'm not letting you leave until I've got some answers."

"Shane..." I growled anamalisticly, shocking both of us, "Let. Me. Go."

_Thump, thump, thump._

All I could think about was the thick red liquid and the pulsing sensation in his neck. God, how I could just sink my teeth into it and be cured. No! I wasn't going to hurt him, I just couldn't. I really had to go now.

"Just tell me what's wrong Claire," He asked sweetly, putting his hands on my shoulders. Having his wrists right next to my mouth was the last straw. In my last attempt to get him to leave me alone, I shoved him with all my strength. He flew backwards into a table. The look he gave me was the worst look I've ever seen. He looked like a kicked, shocked puppy and I hated myself for hurting him.

The last thing I saw was Eve checking him over and helping him up before shooting me a dangerous look. I heard people gasping and the music stopped as I vamped out of there.

_Thump, thump, thump._

Finally, I made it outside. The cold air blowing at my face helped a little bit, but not much. I turned in circles, holding my hands to my head before sitting down on a wall and breathed deeply, trying to convince myself that I wasn't thirsty and that I didn't have to hurt anyone.

_Thump, thump, thump._

No, I couldn't let my self do that. I didn't want to hurt anyone.

_Thump, thump, thump._

They were all _people. _People with family and friends, and a future full of people who would miss them. I couldn't take that away.

_Thump, thump, thump._

No, I wouldn't do it - But I was so thirsty! I could just take a sip. I could bite someone then leave them alive, couldn't I? That way, I got what I wanted and they would be fine after a few days. Yeah, I could just do that.

"Excuse me?" I heard a polite voice ask, "Are you okay?"

Perfect. Right into the spider's lair.


	16. Chapter 16

**It's another filler chapter! :( But at least you get to see what happened to Claire from Michael's point of view.**

Michael's POV-

I ran over to where Eve was helping Shane up from the ground. I quickly checked him over. He looked hurt, but I suspected that it was more emotional than physical. What the hell happened? The last thing I saw was Shane and Claire talking and then all of a sudden, Shane was on the ground and the table was broken.

"It's not a free show," Eve screamed at the masses of people crowding around, trying to figure out what had just happened, "Shoo!"

A couple mutters and groans came from the crowd, but they all started heading back to their respective tables without any major drama. I looked over at Shane, who still looked shell shocked. Most people were gone now and I took in the surroundings. Things were getting back to normal now. Amelie and Myrnin were staring right at us now. I looked up at them curiously and Amelie broke her stare. She turned to Myrnin and whispered something in his ear that my vampire senses couldn't even pick up. The vampire scientist looked terrified for some reason, he turned back to Amelie and they started whispering feriously. One part of me wanted to edge closer and listen to what they were saying. But the other part - the one that wanted to look out for my friends _and _avoid Amelie's wrath - won, I stayed put.

"You okay man?" I asked, slapping Shane's shoulder. Eve rolled her eyes at the lack of empathy between us.

"Yeah, but it's just..." He trailed off, shaking his head with sunken eyes.

"What?" I asked loudly, surprising myself with the anger and desperateness in my voice. Claire leaving the Glass House had hit us all hard. She'd left before, of course, when she lived with her parents, as well as her brief stint in Boston. This felt different though, she hadn't just left physically, she had cut all ties with us; emotional ones included. Shane had been hit worse. For the first few days he wandered round like a lost puppy, then he became a mix of anger and sadness. He rang Amelie every day asking to see her but got the same reply every time: 'She's busy right now, I'll pass on a message instead'.

I hadn't thought much about to be honest. Sure, I'd sat and listened to Eve rant and I reassured Shane that she'd be back once she'd had a little time to think. But it was only now, when I truly thought about the situation that I really how un-Claire it was. Claire wouldn't blow us all off like that, especially Shane. Not unless there was a _really_ good reason. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for my little sister/youngest friend. Something bad had obviously happened with her and we had all left her on her own to sort it out, instead of truly fighting for her. The question was, however: what was up with Claire?

"Michael, I require your assistance," I heard Amelie say from behind me, she turned on her heels and stalked away. I followed her as she pushed her way through a set of double doors and into a locked room that was freakishly like the secret room at home. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was Myrnin sitting on a desk, twiddling a plain wooden stake like a majorette. He still had the fearful look in his eyes, and I felt myself becoming scared. If something was bad enough to scare Amelie and Myrnin, then surely I should be worried myself, right?

I positioned myself opposite Myrnin and Amelie threw herself down on to the chair exhaustedly. She didn't look like herself right now. She looked worn down and young. That was scarier than anything else.

"Yes?" I prompted, trying not to sound rude.

"We lost Claire!" Myrnin blurted out and I almost laughed. They lost Claire. I mean yes, it's the night but she has protection and all the vampires are here. Besides, she's a big girl, surely she can take care of herself. That didn't stop the niggling feeling in my stomach that something was wrong however, in fact, it only fuelled it more.

Amelie sat up straight and addressed me, "Claire is-"

She was cut off my Myrnin's growl, "Respect her wishes, Amelie!"

Amelie sighed, "Just find her... Please," She added the please on as a second thought, clearly she needed to find Claire, and she needed to find her _now_. If I had one, my heart would be pounding in my chest. Something _was _wrong, really wrong. I started to wonder what Amelie was about to tell me, but I shook the thought away and concentrating on what was important: finding Claire.

I nodded at Amelie and raced back out towards the seats where Eve and Shane were waiting for me. They both looked up at me quizzingly and I shook my head.

"I know you're angry at her right now, but we need to find Claire," Their eyes softened a little bit, but I still saw anger in them, "Her life is in danger," I didn't know if that was true, but Amelie was clearly desperate to get Claire back, and she wouldn't care that much us it was a life or death situation. Shane stood up with a burst immediately, Eve followed a few seconds later. I nodded for them to follow me and we ran to the entrance to the hall.

"She went outside," Shane told me manner of factly, "I watched her go,"

"You sure?" I asked him, "Her life is at stake here..."

He looked offended that I thought he would risk Claire's life and I felt a tiny pang of guilt in my chest as he said, "Dude! I just said that I watched her leave,"

"Great!" I say sarcastically, putting my hands to my head, "She could be anywhere in Morganville, or out of Morganville by now,"

That's when I heard a sucking sound. It was faint, and I realised that Shane and Eve probably couldn't hear it. I held one finger up to them, shushing them both. They started listening out for whatever I could hear, giving each other confused glances. I started heading towards the direction that the sound was coming from, Eve and Shane following close behind. I led us into a dark alley. It was nearly pitch black, but I could see a moving figure in the distance. That's when I moved, and the motion sensor lights came on, illuminating the horror in front of me.

Turns out Claire _wasn't _far away. In fact, she was right in front of us, draining the life out of a young girl.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm back in school (year 11) now guys, so I'll be updating a bit less... Sorry! I don't know why but this was just really difficult to write. I hope I didn't overdo Claire's feelings :s I just feel like all my chapters for this story haven't been very good :(**

Claire's POV-

It was euphoric. It was thrilling. It was like driving 100 miles per hour down an empty desert road with your head out of the sunroof. It was like finally getting everything you ever wanted. Most of all, it felt _good. _It tore away the icy, numb feeling and replaced it with warmth. It made me feel complete again.

I'd always believed that vampires killing humans was wrong, but being on the complete other side of the spectrum now, I understood what they were saying. Something that felt so _right_, couldn't be wrong, could it?

The girl who's name I didn't even know turned limp in my arms and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. I knew I had to stop quickly or she would die, but I physically couldn't. It was like the sane, reasonable part of me had shut down and the only thing left was the primative instinct to kill coming from the vampire side of me.

I felt strong arms on my waist pulling me away. I resisted at first, but they were older than me and stronger so I couldn't really fight them. I felt mysefl being pulled roughly away from the girl and I span to look at who was pulling me back. My heart sank. _Michael._

How much had he seen? By the look on his face, I guessed that he'd seen enough. He looked disappointed although I couldn't figure out if it was at me or himself. Then I felt panic rise up in me. If Michael was here, then was Eve? Was _Shane_?

I heard two heartbeats behind me and knew that it was them. I had my back to them right now, so they hadn't seen my face but they weren't stupid either. With Michael's reaction and me pushing Shane on top of all the rumours, they had probably figured out that I was a vampire now. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and turned to look at them. They both gasped straight away, and within a few seconds grew horrified expressions.

"What the hell, Claire?" Shane called at me, "You team vamp now?"

"It was an accident," I cried at them, my voice sounded weak and broken down.

"Michael never had accidents, you're just a monster," Eve hissed through her teeth then ran over to Michael and pulled him away, "Come on Michael we're going, before she hurts one of us too!"

I watched them leave, keeping my face emotionless as they went. I couldn't believe they were doing this to me. They were leaving me, when I needed them most. I gasped and burst into relentless sobs, tears streaming down my face. My knees were weak, not for strain, but from sadness and I fell to the floor, curling up in foetal position. Eventually, I got too tired to cry but I didn't move at all. My chest ached and my head was swirling.

They hated me. They actually hated me. I couldn't believe it. I could understand sadness, or even anger. But they were my best friends, and they didn't even give me a chance to explain.

To explain what? That I didn't want this? That I can't control it for whatever reason? That I have killed two people? No, they're right to hate me. I hate me. For God's sake, why can't I just control it? It's not hard!

I just wanted to die. Well, I didn't, but at that moment, I did. I just lay there in horror at what I had done. I opened my glassy eyes and stared at the girl whose life I had taken. She was someone's daughter. Maybe a sister or an aunt, or even a mother. Did she have a boyfriend at home who would be waiting up for her? Well she wasn't going home. That was my fault.

"I'll take care of her, Amelie," I heard a rough, masculine voice say from behind me. I carried on crying silent tears without even looking up at who they were. They were going to take care of me? What did that mean? I concluded they were either going to help me, or kill me. I didn't care either way.

I felt one steady arm wrap around my waist whilst the other grabbed my shoulder, heaving my off of the floor and onto my feet. They turned me away from the body and started pulling me inside somewhere. I knew from the gentleness of the touch that it was one of two people. We already established that one of those people already hated me, so I knew who it was: Myrnin.

I turned up to look at him and I saw many things written on his face. One was fear, and disappointment, obviously at the fact that had hurt someone again. The other was concern and... Love? I knew he was infatuated with me, but did he actually _love _me? Did I love him? I didn't know.

I was in a bathroom now. The door was locked at Myrnin was running a sink. He grabbed some tissues and wetted them before scrubbing my face while I sobbed. I momentarily wondered what the hell he was doing until I caught a glimpse on my reflection. I looked hideous. I looked like a monster. I guess that would be an accurate description.

Myrnin shushed me, using a gentle tone usually reserved for mental patients or something like that,"It was an accident, Claire, don't worry about it," Eve's words sprung into my head again, _Michael never had accidents, you're just a monster._

"I'm a monster," I cried, practically screaming in his face while he continued cleaning me up.

"You're beautiful," He said, stopping my sobs with shock, "and you made a mistake, there are worse things you could do than slip up once,"

"It's not just once though, is it? This is the second person I've drained," I cried, panicky, "I'd hardly call killing a human a mistake, Myrnin! I'm a murderer. A serial murderer, by now,"

He kissed me. I wasn't prepared for it, but t tasted of cinnamon and the fresh salt of tears. It made everything in my mind disappear and all I could feel is butterflies and summer clouds. He broke away, placing a finger gently to my lips.

"We'll figure something out," He whispered, releasing his touch and slumping against the wall next to me. He looked down at the floor then back up at me and offered me his hand. I accepted it and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise,"


End file.
